US Loses 40,000 Lives Each Year Due To Suicide

On its front page and as part of its “The Cost of Not Caring” series, USA Today (10/10, A1, Zoroya) reports in a 2,900-word article called “40,000 Suicides Annually, Yet America Simply Shrugs,” that the “nearly 40,000 American lives lost each year make suicide the nation’s 10th-leading cause of death, and the second-leading killer for those ages 15-34.”

In recent years, “biological research [has] led scientists…to assert that suicidal behavior is a disorder that deserves to be included in the bible on mental health illnesses – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder – so doctors could better diagnose, identify and move into treatment those who are suicidal,” and “American Psychiatric Association officials who periodically revise the manual want more study.”

Maria Oquendo, MD, a psychiatry professor at Columbia University, said, “They (the authors) said it’s an idea that obviously needs to be considered but is not quite ready for inclusion.”